Disjointed front

Opposition unity seems to be a pipe dream, especially after the coup in Maharashtra

- PRATUL SHARMA

A COUPLE OF days after she was made the National Democratic Alliance’s presidential candidate, Droupadi Murmu called Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for support. She had been governor there from 2015 to 2021, and Soren had returned to power in 2019. The call put Soren in a quandary. A week prior, his Jharkhand Mukti Morcha had attended the opposition meeting that picked Yashwant Sinha to be Murmu’s opponent. Soren wished Murmu well, but was noncommittal.

Soren had become chief minister with the support of the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, after the voters threw out the BJP for making Raghubar Das, a non-tribal, the chief minister.

But Soren’s seat is anything but safe. The BJP filed an office-for-profit petition against him, which the Election Commission and the High Court are currently hearing. Moreover, in June, the Enforcement Directorate arrested bureaucrat Pooja Singhal, known to be close to Soren, with unaccounted cash (over ₹36 crore) allegedly made from mining projects.

On June 27, within two days of Murmu’s call, Soren met Home Minister Amit Shah. A political crisis was brewing in Maharashtra, and Jharkhand was seen as the BJP’s next target. Soren apparently put forward some of his state’s demands in exchange for support to Murmu.

Two days later, Soren announced that he supported her candidacy, cutting another thread that held together a weak opposition unity.

Socioeconomic problems notwithstanding, the fissures in the opposition camp make the Narendra Modi government look potent ahead of the 15 assembly elections before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.